Biology – Unit 3 Biodiversity and the interconnectedness of life
Moreton Bay Studies is a day program supporting Biology Unit 3: Biodiversity and the interconnectedness of life. Students, in the role of biologists, use a stratified sampling process to conduct an ecological survey of sites in Moreton Bay (Quandamooka). Data collected during the program is added to Moreton Bay EEC longitudinal data set and shared with agencies managing Moreton Bay.
On board our vessel Inspiration, field studies are primarily focused on the marine ecosystems around Green and St Helena Islands and include:
Investigation of abiotic factors limiting the distribution and abundance of fish species in an ecosystem.
Collection of data using a variety of sampling techniques (eg. Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV), underwater video glider transect surveys).
Methods to measure abiotic data (including salinity, temperature and availability of light).
Procedures for the identification of organisms and ecosystems (eg. field guides, classification systems).
Evaluation of the data collection methodologies and appraisal of the ecological survey techniques used.
At our Centre, students use a longitudinal data set and application of data analysis techniques to:
Determine and compare species diversity across two spatially variant sites (Simpsons diversity index).
Identify, analyse and interpret relationships between abiotic factors and the abundance and distribution of a species in an ecosystem (correlation matrix and descriptive statistics).
Test the statistical significance of abiotic factor influences (t-tests).
Represent experimental findings using graphical techniques including standard error bars.
Pre-program resources introduce students to the field investigation context and methodologies.
Post-program, access to the Moreton Bay EEC complete longitudinal data set is available, allowing students to develop a modified research question and select their own data to analyse, as per requirements for IA2: Student experiment.
Curriculum Intent - Biology 2025 v1.3
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Unit 3: Biodiversity and the interconnectedness of life Students will collect data using sampling methodologies to support Biology Unit 3, Topic 1: Biodiversity and populations, and specifically:
- Use the process of stratified sampling to classify an ecosystem.
- Determine the diversity of species using measures such as species richness, evenness (relative species abundance), percentage cover, percentage frequency and Simpson's diversity index.
- Compare species diversity in two spatially variant ecosystems of the same classification.
- Describe and investigate how the distribution and abundance of species in an ecosystem are influenced by abiotic factors.
- Interpret data from an experiment investigating how abiotic factors affect the distribution, abundance and/or biodiversity of species in an ecosystem.
IA1: Data test - Data is available to assist with the formulation of this assessment. IA2: Student experiment - Students complete primary data collection onboard the vessel Inspiration, then create a research question from the analysed data to modify the experiment.
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